At the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) final meeting of 2017, the group published its annual report, voted to approve the report and the minutes from its last meeting, and conducted business in executive session.

Among the members of FSOC taking part in the activities was Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Mick Mulvaney, who signed off on the annual report in his role as acting director and participated in both votes in open session.

The activity led some to wonder whether his appearance constituted a violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Why? Read on for more.

Following an enforcement action announced against PHH Mortgage Corp., the New York Department of Financial Services issued guidance to remind banks and mortgage servicers of their responsibilities to maintain vacant and abandoned properties across the state.

Among the key problems, the department said in the guidance, are that property registrations are not being updated in a timely manner.

Read on for more about what the department expects of mortgage holders and services when it comes to zombie properties in the state.

When does a company’s non-response to qualified written requests become a pattern of non-compliance, and thus statutory damages as they are applied under RESPA?

Is five letters enough? A borrower in New Jersey argued that its servicer’s failure to respond to five QWRs was enough to show a pattern or practice of non-compliance. The servicer cited an earlier case when the New Jersey District Court ruled that a company which failed to respond to five letters until six months after the first was sent did not rise to the level of statutory damages.

This time, however, the district court ruled that the borrower provided a sufficient showing of statutory damages. Why? Read on to find out.

Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched a program to help households living in assisted housing to become self-sufficient.

HUD announced it would mark the 25th anniversary of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) by awarding $75 million to continue helping public housing residents, those participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program and residents of Project-Based Rental Assistance to further their education and find good jobs.

Read on for more about the program and remarks from HUD Secretary Ben Carson.

After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to overturn net neutrality rules implemented by the agency in 2015, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) responded with a strong rebuke of the decision.

NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall said in a press release that the change could affect the way real estate transactions will be conducted in the future.

As the battle for leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to work its way through the court systems, a coalition of 17 state attorneys general wrote the president to say they supported the bureau and would continue enforcing consumer protection laws regardless of the status of CFPB leadership.

“If incoming CFPB leadership prevents the agency’s professional staff from aggressively pursuing consumer abuse and financial misconduct, we will redouble our efforts at the state level to root out such misconduct and hold those responsible to account,” their letter said.

Read on for more about the message and the states which signed on to it.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) wrote to the chairmen of the House and Senate conference committee working on the tax cut proposal, shortly before the two sides said they came to agreement on a bill to prepare for a vote next week.

Among the areas which NAR pointed out to lawmakers was the capital gains exclusion for the sale of a principal residence. By changing current law, NAR said the country could see a $7 billion drop in annual GDP.

In working to provide simplified guidance to new rulemaking, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced that it issued an update to its TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Guide to the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms.

The update is available online at the bureau’s website, which includes a downloadable PDF of the guide.

Read along for more about the guide and what updates have been made to it.

A former Navy veteran living in Virginia filed suit against his servicer to prevent foreclosure, after following instructions to allow his mortgage to fall into default, then being denied a loan modification.

He cited RESPA violations in the loss mitigation process in his complaint. The servicer claims the veteran did not sufficiently allege actual damages.

Did the district court in Virginia allow injunctive relief for the veteran under RESPA? Read on for the details.

The annual report issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Ombudsman office shows that inquiries rose about 14 percent in 2017 from a year earlier.

Individuals contacting the office on their own behalf made up the overwhelming majority of inquiries in fiscal 2017.

Read on for more about the focus and results for the Ombudsman office in 2017, including its work with consumer questions on the complaint database, joining the company portal and how stakeholders engage with the regulatory process.

President Donald Trump is the primary defendant in the case filed by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Deputy Director Leandra English over the rightful acting director of the bureau.

However, the president has injected himself into more of the CFPB’s activities in the past week.

He became the lead defendant in a case filed by a New York credit union, and following a Reuters report that his appointed acting director, Mick Mulvaney, was postponing an enforcement action against Wells Fargo, the president took to Twitter to respond.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Leandra English has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s appointment of Mick Mulvaney as the acting director of the bureau.

English’s motion, filed with the D.C. District Court, “requests expedited treatment due to the exigency of the circumstances and the irreparable nature of the injury the injunction would prevent.”

The motion cites three reasons for the request, and references the director’s role with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in its arguments. Read on for more.

A group of insurance trade associations, including the American Land Title Association, wrote to a House subcommittee in support of H.R. 3746, the Business of Insurance Regulatory Reform Act of 2017.

The bill, which was discussed by the Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit in a recent hearing, would clarify the extent to which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has authority over the insurance industry.

Read on for more about the language of the bipartisan bill and the associations’ letter in support.

In a speech before the “Future of the U.S. Housing Market” event in Washington, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) detailed his principals for reforming the market through legislation.

Among the areas cited in his presentation was a proposal authored by former Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Ed DeMarco and Ginnie Mae acting director Michael Bright.

Read on for more of Hensarling’s ideas for secondary market reform, including the elimination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In a stunning reversal Monday the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) agreed to suspend its investigation and request for a civil investigation demand (CID) of Nexus Services, the company announced in a press release.

Nexus filed for a preliminary injunction last week after Richard Cordray had resigned as director of the CFPB. In a conference hearing Monday, Nexus said the bureau dropped its demands, leaving the injunction moot.

In a recent survey by J.D. Power, the headline information appeared to be that consumers reported declining satisfaction with mortgage closings, in part because of a perception that the process was moving slower despite more online interaction involved.

But Craig Martin, director of the mortgage practice at J.D. Power, told RESPA News the findings in the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study were a bit more complicated than the headline finding.

As lenders have gotten more accustomed to making loans under TRID rules, their ability to more likely target correct closing dates might be affecting survey findings on borrower expectations with the process. Read on for more details and insight.

It has been seven years since the Department of Justice issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking on website compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

As the years have gone on without a final rulemaking, banks and credit unions are reporting a steady increase in the number of lawsuits filed against them for failure to comply with ADA regulations.

One credit union trade association recently wrote to the Justice Department to ask for progress, while the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing titled “The Impact of Lawsuit Abuse on American Small Businesses and Job Creators” that touched on those themes. Read on for more about the incidents.

Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a civil investigative demand (CID) to Synchrony Financial to determine “whether banks or other persons have engaged or are engaging in unlawful acts and practices in connection with the marketing and servicing of deferred-interest credit cards.”

The bureau denied Synchony’s petition to set aside the request, as it has in each of the 22 orders in which it has ruled upon since opening its doors. However, in a supplemental brief filed with Synchrony’s petition, the company included correspondence from the CFPB on a “market-monitoring” data request made in addition to its CID request.

So what was the CFPB looking for in the data request, much of which Synchrony said was also the subject of the bureau’s CID?

In a companion enforcement action to a 2015 enforcement against Discover, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) cited Citibank for errors and failures it alleged in its servicing of student loans.

In a consent order announced shortly before Director Richard Cordray resigned from the CFPB, Citibank was charged with incorrectly charging borrowers late fees and adding interest to loans which should have been deferred until the students stopped attending school. Citi also was alleged to mislead borrowers by not clearly explaining that they were eligible for a tax deduction on the interest paid on their student loans.

Read on for more about the reaction, and what the CFPB will require Citi to do moving forward.

As Mick Mulvaney finished his first week as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) following his appointment by President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives began work on overturning the most recently approved CFPB rule.

A bill of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act was introduced last week which would overturn the recently finalized rule on small-dollar lending. The rule was issued in October but was not published in the Federal Register until Nov. 17.

Attorneys for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Leandra English said in a court filing Friday evening that she expected to file a preliminary injunction in her case by Tuesday. A published report Friday said she remains in contact with CFPB managers and is directing them on their job responsibilities.

That would contradict Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, who twice this week has emailed CFPB staff and managers to disregard English’s requests as acting director and to report any correspondence from her that is not personal to the agency’s general counsel.

In addition, Mulvaney has added an assistant to help his work at the bureau. Read on for more details.

Today the Senate Banking Committee has a mark-up hearing to discuss its version of finreg legislation called the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act.

The legislation has bipartisan sponsorship and would have changes directly affecting TRID and HMDA rules. Its passage out of committee is likely, but it does face opposition from Democratic committee members including Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

Read on for details of the bill and how it would change provisions affecting TRID and HMDA.

In an interview Thursday night following his first week at work as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acting director, Mick Mulvaney said that work had gone “extraordinarily smoothly.”

Although Mulvaney has been publicly called out since his appointment for comments made when he called the CFPB a joke and suggested it should be closed, the director of the Office of Management and Budget professed a respect for CFPB employees in the interview.

However, he also suggested the bureau remained unaccountable and needed to be changed. Read on for more from the interview.

On an historical first working day at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) without Richard Cordray as director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney brought donuts for staff, met with senior leadership and held a press conference to announce a 30-day freeze to all hiring and new rules, regulation and guidance at the CFPB.

Mulvaney held a press conference at the bureau following his first day to discuss the freeze and immediate action, while Press Secretary Sarah Sanders’ daily press conference was dominated by questions about the CFPB and Mulvaney’s role.

Read on for reactions from Mulvaney and Sanders after a tumultuous day in the post-Cordray era.

Richard Horn spent three years at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and was the leading author of the bureau’s TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule.

The principal of Richard Horn Legal PLLC looked at the events happening Monday at his former office and talked with RESPA News about some of the questions which staffers might be facing.

Deputy Director Leandra English filed suit Sunday night against President Donald Trump over his appointment of Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as acting director. Mulvaney came to the CFPB headquarters early Monday morning for his first day as acting director, while English referred to herself as acting director in an email to staff to thank them for their work.

After a contentious two days – in which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) effectively was operating with two acting directors – D.C. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly put a temporary end to the dispute when he refused to grant Deputy Director Leandra English a temporary restraining order on President Donald Trump’s appointment of Mick Mulvaney as acting director.

Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), returned to the CFPB offices Thursday after spending a day back at OMB.

Although Kelly’s ruling has calmed the tumultuous waters for now, the battle for leadership at the CFPB appears far from over.

“There is established the position of Deputy Director, who shall— (A) be appointed by the Director; and (B) serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director.”

Those 30 words in 848 pages of the Dodd-Frank Act are at issue as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found itself Monday with two people staking a claim as the acting director of the bureau, replacing Richard Cordray.

They have become part of a legal battle now, with Deputy Director Leandra English filing a lawsuit Sunday night against President Donald Trump over his appointment of Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as acting director. English asked for an emergency hearing and a temporary restraining order against the appointment while the court considers the case.

The action played out Monday like Greek drama, with the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in doubt throughout.

On the first working day following the resignation of CFPB Director Richard Cordray, two people laid claim to the title of acting director in his absence. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney showed up just before 8 a.m. at CFPB headquarters as the president’s appointed interim director, carrying a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and later shown to be reviewing a transition book of the CFPB in the director’s office.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director Leandra English – who filed suit Sunday night for a temporary restraining order halting the appointment of Mulvaney – emailed staff shortly after pictures of Mulvaney in the director’s office were sent via Twitter.

On Black Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was left in the dark about its leadership.

Director Richard Cordray announced early in the day that he would resign his position, effective at midnight, and named a deputy director to take over as Cordray’s replacement.

Hours later, President Donald Trump announced that he officially named Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as the acting director, a move the president believes he can make under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. So who is in charge, and can the CFPB function while two acting directors appear to be in place?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action against a software company for providing what it said was a flawed product that caused auto lenders to incorrectly report information on consumers to credit reporting agencies.

The public enforcement action cites five lenders which reported the incorrect information, but does not contain any penalties or action for the lenders in the consent order. Instead, the software company is told to identify and correct errors, file a compliance plan with the bureau and pay a $1.1 million penalty.

Dive into the world of RESPA with enforcement expert Phil Schulman. Learn about co-marketing activities following the CFPB decision to close its investigation of Zillow, complying in a post-PHH world, and what enforcement looks like with new leadership at the CFPB.

12 USC Section 2605 or Section 6 is titled Servicing of mortgage loans and administration of escrow accounts. It pertains to qualified written requests, notices of transfer of servicing and the administration of escrow accounts.

An arrangement that involves a person who is in a position to refer business as part of a real estate settlement service and who has an interest in a settlement services provider.

In the arrangement, the person, who has either an affiliate relationship with or a direct or beneficial ownership interest of more than one percent in a settlement services provider, directly or indirectly refers business to that provider or influences a consumer to select that provider.

An arrangement that involves a person who is in a position to refer business as part of a real estate settlement service and who has an interest in a settlement services provider.

In the arrangement, the person, who has either an affiliate relationship with or a direct or beneficial ownership interest of more than one percent in a settlement services provider, directly or indirectly refers business to that provider or influences a consumer to select that provider.

A mortgage disclosure that lists all estimated charges and fees associated with your loan. In addition to fees and charges, it will list your loan amount, mortgage rate, loan term and estimated monthly payment. Your escrows due at closing for insurance and taxes will also be outlined. Mortgage lenders are legally required to provide a GFE within three days of receiving your application.

A mortgage disclosure that lists all estimated charges and fees associated with your loan. In addition to fees and charges, it will list your loan amount, mortgage rate, loan term and estimated monthly payment. Your escrows due at closing for insurance and taxes will also be outlined. Mortgage lenders are legally required to provide a GFE within three days of receiving your application.

Under RESPA Section 2605(e)(1)(B), a qualified written request is a written correspondence that includes: 1) the name and account of the borrower, or has enough information to allow the servicer identify that information; and 2) a statement of the reasons for the belief of the borrower that the account is in error or provides sufficient detail to the servicer regarding other information sought by the borrower.

A QWR cannot be written on a payment coupon or other payment medium supplied by the servicer.

Under RESPA Section 2605(e)(1)(B), a qualified written request is a written correspondence that includes: 1) the name and account of the borrower, or has enough information to allow the servicer identify that information; and 2) a statement of the reasons for the belief of the borrower that the account is in error or provides sufficient detail to the servicer regarding other information sought by the borrower.

A QWR cannot be written on a payment coupon or other payment medium supplied by the servicer.

Under Regulation X, required use means a situation in which a person must use a particular provider of a settlement service in order to have access to some distinct service or property, and the person will pay for the settlement service of the particular provider or will pay a charge attributable, in whole or in part, to the settlement service.

However, the offering of a package or (combination of settlement services) or the offering of discounts or rebates to consumers for the purchase of multiple settlement services does not constitute a required use. Any package or discount must be optional to the purchaser. The discount must be a true discount below the prices that are otherwise generally

12 USC Section 2607 or Section 8 is titled Prohibition against kickbacks and unearned fees. It prohibits fees or kickbacks for referrals. It also prohibits accepting a portion of fee except for services actually performed. Section 8 provides information on what payments are allowed under this section and the penalties for violations.

12 USC Section 2608 or Section 9 is titled Title companies; liability of seller. This section states that a seller cannot require, as a condition of selling the property, that title insurance be purchased by any particular title company. Section 9 states that a seller who violates this section is liable to the buyer for treble damages.

12 USC Section 2609 or Section 10 is titled Limitation on requirement of advance deposits in escrow accounts. It governs escrow accounts including notifications and statements to borrowers. Section 10 also sets out penalties for those who violate the section.

Under RESPA, settlement service includes any service provided in connection with a real estate settlement. The statute provides a list of services.

Under Regulation X, settlement service means any service provided in connection with a prospective or actual settlement. The regulation provides an extended list of services as compared to the statute.

RESPA Section 3 provides that a thing of value includes any payment, advance, funds, loan, service or other consideration

Regulation X says thing of value includes: monies, things, discounts, salaries, commissions, fees, duplicate payments of a charge, stock, dividends, distributions of partnership profits, franchise royalties, credits representing monies that may be paid at a future date, the opportunity to participate in a money-making program, retained or increased earnings, increased equity in a parent or subsidiary entity, special bank deposits or accounts, special or unusual banking terms, services of all types at special or free rates, sales or rentals at special prices or rates, lease or rental payments based in whole or in part on the amount of business referred, trips and payment of another person’s expenses or reduction in credit against an existing obligation.

A form used by a settlement or closing agent itemizing all charges imposed on a borrower and seller in a real estate transaction. This form represents the closing transaction and provides each party with a complete list of incoming and outgoing funds. RESPA requires the HUD-1 to be used as the standard real estate settlement form in all transactions in the U.S. involving federally related mortgage loans.